Tag Archives: parenting

I don’t know about you guys, but the last month has been non-stop back to school photos on my Facebook and Instagram timelines. I actually got to be a part of it this year, because my sweet baby boy started preschool!

We had loads of fun shopping at Target for his school supplies. He felt like a ‘big kid’ picking out a backpack after he saw an older kid looking at them, too. “Mommy! I’m going to school like that kid!”

Ugh, slow down a bit. I can handle preschool, but I’m not ready to think about elementary school yet.

Check out my recent YouTube video for a look at what we picked out. Also, my hair is wild in this one.

How did your first day back go? Tell me all about it in the comments! Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I have lots of fun product reviews and a giveaway coming up soon!

My child loves to watch Grav3YardGirl‘s Does This Thing Really Work? videos on YouTube. When he’s feeling sleepy or in need of a cuddle, he’ll climb into my lap and ask, “Mommy, can we watch a Bunny video?”

It took me a while to find them, but I tracked the bubble machine down on Amazon and even found some refill kits.

I was skeptical, even after watching Bunny’s review…But this thing is actually pretty great! We spent an hour or so blowing cherry bubbles all over the back yard, and I managed to catch a few…they actually DO taste just like cherry! O’s strategy was to stick his face right in front of the machine, and he caught a lot of bubbles, but he didn’t like getting the bubble solution all over his face.

You get two packets of bubble solution with the machine (cherry and grape), and refills are available in packs of three flavors. The packet of cherry lasted a lot longer than I thought it would, and we even got a little more mileage out of it by pouring a little water in at the end.

I’m not sure if you’re supposed to do that. Maybe don’t be like me.

The machine takes 4 AA batteries and you’ll need a little screwdriver to get the back panel off. I picked up an eyeglass repair kit that’s super handy for these things.

I love this thing. As long as it holds up, I can see it providing hours of summer fun for my boy. In fact, I may not have to make a dessert for the rest of the summer. Dinner’s over? Go outside and play with your bubble machine!

Just don’t drink the bubble solution…I’m pretty sure it says specifically not to on the box.

Well guys, I guess it’s time to admit that I am once again out of the running for Mother of the Year. Yes, I know it’s a huge surprise, but I’ve just made too many mistakes to think anyone would nominate me.

Don’t believe me? I submit the following:

I allowed O to practically inhale an entire chocolate bunny on Easter morning. Sure, it was a smallish one, but chocolate for breakfast? That’s a mommy no-no for sure.

Exhibit A.

I have also given my child donuts, birthday cake, and cookies for breakfast. Not all the time, of course, but with enough frequency to make the Mother of the Year prize out of my reach. But come on, who doesn’t eat leftover birthday cake the day after their birthday?! Or the day after anyone’s birthday, if they send some cake home with you.

Exhibit B.No, he didn’t eat all of it…His was the chocolate piece.

And I guess, while we’re talking about food, my kid has had McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Arby’s. He really loves the chicken nuggets. And fries. Once again, only occasionally…But the fact that I have allowed him to consume MECHANICALLY SEPARATED CHICKEN GOO that has been deep-fried to oblivion probably booted me out of the running.

Exhibit C.These are actually fish nuggets. Still fried, though.

I also let him play with the sweeper, mostly in hopes that he will accidentally turn it on and scare the crap out of himself. I can’t help it, that’s damned hilarious.

I’ve forgotten to tell him he can get up when he’s in trouble (I refuse to call it time out), only to remember 20 minutes later.

I’ve lied and said we were out of a snack that he asked for because I really wanted to eat the last one.

I don’t let him flush the toilet eleventy billion times.

He really needed (his words) a blueberry breakfast bar but I wouldn’t let him have one because he didn’t eat his lunch.

And then…

This morning, he came in the bathroom when I was brushing my teeth. He wanted to brush his, so I picked up his toothbrush and started to put toothpaste on it.

WRONG.

He wanted to do it himself. In an attempt to avoid a tantrum, I held the toothpaste and brush out to him…But the damage had been done. He turned and ran to the living room, threw himself on a chair, and sobbed for five minutes over the injustice of it all.

Like this:

Suddenly, everyone I know is having babies. Seriously, I can think of at least four ladies due this summer, and probably another three due this winter. I was starting to worry that I’d never find unique gifts for all of them until I found My 1st Years.

My 1st Years is a fairly new company, founded in 2010 and located in the UK, that aims to provide unique baby gifts that don’t break the bank…And as a huge bonus, they personalize your gift for free.

The selection of gifts is impressive… I had so much trouble narrowing my first order down that it took me a few days to decide. When I finally did make my selection, I was surprised at how quickly the package arrived. Ten days from my order date from the UK? I’ll take it.

By the way, if you are ordering a gift, have it sent directly to the recipient. Every order comes in a beautiful complimentary gift box, and the package itself will have a big ol’ Royal Mail sticker on it. I don’t know about you, but it certainly made me feel pretty fancy!

Oh, just a package from my friend Kate…NBD

This company really knows how to package a gift.

My 1st Years was kind enough to provide me with one of their lovely products so I could do a review. I agonized over the decision, drove The BF nuts, and finally…finally, I chose the Gingham Blue Trim Robe in the biggest size offered (2-3 years).

Oh my goodness y’all, this is lovely. The robe is beautifully made, with his name embroidered on the front. It fits perfectly, and the boy absolutely loves wearing it.

It’s the hood that just really gets me, I think.

He loves to put it on right after his bath so he can lounge around before bed in comfort and style. On chilly mornings, he will go find his robe and strut around the house with it on. I happen to love the fact that the belt is actually attached to the robe, so I don’t have to worry about it getting lost.

I could not be more pleased with this product, and this company in general. I have a number of items bookmarked for future gifts, and I just know that my friends will love them.

Do yourself a favor and check them out… Not only do they offer lots of beautiful, keepsake-quality gifts for babies and young toddlers, but they have some great stuff for mom and dad, too.

**My 1st Years provided the pictured product at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review of their site. All opinions and photographs are my own.**

Like this:

I had tentative plans yesterday to meet up with a friend that was in town for a short time.

I knew she would be busy trying to see everyone, but she had some free time during the day. I let her know that I had to go to town, but that O would need to nap first. Then to illustrate my point, I sent a video of The Grouchy One in all his grouchy glory.

Of course he was not in the mood to cooperate, and it was getting later in the morning. I decided to run to the store regardless of his napless status, thinking his grumpiness might be hunger. We grabbed some lunch and ran our errands, then I headed home to put the groceries away before meeting up with my friend. I considered leaving the stuff in the car, but I didn’t want to take a chance that the milk would freeze and explode in my car. Yes, it’s already that cold in Indiana.

So of course O would decide that naptime needed to happen omgrightnow when we got home. I put him in his crib and sent my friend a message. She said her kid was napping, too, so no biggie.

I cleaned the house a bit and started working on dinner, and I was surprised to see how much tine had passed when my little stinker woke up at 5:30.

I thought, “I need to message friend and let her know that we won’t make it before 6.”

This is where my mom brain kicked in.

This morning, I opened messenger to send my mom a message. I noticed the previous day’s conversation with my friend and opened it…only to see that I had actually never sent the message after he woke up. I instantly felt like a huge asshole, because I had completely left her hanging. I was also super pissed because I had really been looking forward to the visit.

I sent her a message and apologized, but I have felt like a humongous douche all day.

I wish I could say this is the first time it’s happened but…

At least once a day I think, “I’ll reply to that text in a second…”, then I put my phone down and completely forget. Sometimes for days.

I have been meaning to call my insurance company now for almost a month, but I never remember until the office is closed for the evening, or on the weekend.

I spent a good hour and a half working on a grocery list the other day. I went through the freezer, fridge, and pantry to determine what we had, then checked the recipes I wanted to try for the week and wrote down what I needed. Then I got to the store and realized the list was still on the kitchen counter.

You don’t even want to know how frequently I say, “That was today?!”

I used to have a handle on stuff. In high school, I rarely wrote down assignments…I just remembered what I needed to do. I have an uncanny nack for picking up song lyrics. I can still recite the Greek alphabet after learning it in college, for crying out loud.

Yet, now that I’m a mom I can’t remember to put toilet paper on the grocery list (not that it matters, if it doesn’t make it to the store with me). I forget my point halfway through a story and end up feeling silly for bringing it up in the first place… And I would bet my life savings that there’s a load of clothes in the dryer that I’ve forgotten about.

Well lookie there!

What happened to me? Does this ever go away, or am I doomed to forever be feebly saying, “I’m sorry, I forgot”?

Please tell me I’m not alone in this.

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My kid isn’t quite two yet and I already have artwork proudly displayed on my fridge. I was looking at it the other day, and I got to thinking about just how much art one kid can generate in a childhood.

Spoiler alert: It’s a lot.

I know this because my mom kept all of the artwork my brother and I made. Actually, I’m fairly certain she kept every piece of paper we brought home from school in our little backpacks. The entire collection of two kid’s elementary school careers is housed in a big walk-in closet on the second floor of my mom and dad’s house. While it’s a lot of fun to look at, the sheer volume of stuff makes it a little overwhelming and, quite frankly, I worry that it’s a fire hazard.

But what exactly does one do with a child’s artwork? It just feels kind of heartless to throw it out, especially when your sweet boy comes to you beaming with pride and hands you a paper covered with his scribbles (and, ok, maybe some snot). Of course, you tell yourself you’ll just keep a few…maybe you’ll just keep the “really good ones”. Or maybe you’re the rotation mom, hanging it on the fridge fully intending to toss it once you have a new masterpiece to take it’s place. But somehow, these scribbles never quite make it to the trash can do they?

Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a way to…I don’t know…Digitally archive your kid’s work so you could throw out all of the paper with a clear conscience? And wouldn’t it be even better if you could end up with a way to display your child’s artwork without having to buy frames or poke holes in walls? I think you all know me well enough by now to understand that I actually have a solution for you.

Enter: ArtKive.

Artkive provides an amazing service for people looking to better organize and store their kids’ artwork. With Artkive Concierge you just send them all of your child’s art and they professionally photograph it and turn it into a beautiful, keepsake book.

How easy is this?!

I happen to think these books would make wonderful Christmas gifts for grandparents. And how about sending your child’s art class masterpieces in at the end of each school year? You would have a book for every year, neatly displayed on a bookshelf.

This would also be a sweet end-of-year gift for a teacher. Collect artwork from all of the students in class and let ArtKive do the rest of the work. If I were a teacher, that would be the kind of gift I would treasure for years…And it would totally make me cry.